Is this the right direction to Gangnam?

Hi. I have travelled fair bit and one of my scariest nightmares as a traveller would be getting on a subway in the opposite direction and ending up in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night! Luckily, it hasn't happened to me yet. :) The transport system is quite complex in Seoul and it is very easy to get disoriented. So make sure you are travelling in the right direction. :)


Is this the right direction to Gangnam?
이 쪽이 강남 가는 방향 맞아요?


이, yi, this
쪽이, jjokyi, direction + suffix
강남, gangnam, Gangnam
가는, ganun, going (가다)
방향, banghyang, direction
맞아요, majayo, right (맞다)


이 쪽이 강남 가는 방향 맞아요?
yi jjokyi gangnam ganun banghyang majayo?


The first 이 is indicating an object is nearer from you. If the object is further from you, 저 is used. For example:
이 사과 -> this apple
저 사과 -> that apple

쪽 means direction but it never used by itself. I.e. it always follows 이, 저, or adjective phrase. For example:
사람들이 모여있는 쪽 -> direction where people are gathered
소리가 나는 쪽 -> direction from where the sound is coming

방향 also means direction so today's sentence can be said like these:
이 쪽이 강남 가는 쪽 맞아요? or
이 방향이 강남 가는 방향 맞아요?

While we are on the subject of directions these are the words indicating four directions.
동쪽 -> east
서쪽 -> west
남쪽 -> south
북쪽 -> north

BTW, Gangnam is one of the busiest down town and you can get there on the subway Line 2.
Good luck! :)

Comments

  1. maggiesedapgilerJuly 29, 2010 at 2:11 AM

    Hye there:)

    I wonder if this expression "이 쪽이 강남으로요?" also make sense? Do you think it sounds natural?

    ReplyDelete
  2. MinJuly 29, 2010 at 8:25 PM

    Hi. :)

    It is close but the correct form is "이 쪽이 강남이에요?".
    It is too brief to mean "Is this the right direction to Gangnam?", I think. It sounds to me like "Is Gangnam on this side?" :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. maggiesedapgilerJuly 30, 2010 at 12:33 AM

    Oh okay then, thanks:)

    ReplyDelete

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